Women may want to wear high-heeled footwear for the fashion and the aesthetics. However, many women experience discomfort and foot pain while wearing high-heeled footwear. Consequently, many women do not wear high heeled footwear for a very long time. Often women will take off or not wear high-heeled footwear for activities such as dancing or extended walking. Moreover, often women will only wear high-heels for short periods of time or when they will not need to walk or stand for extended periods of time.
As a result of the discomfort, many women will not wear high-heeled footwear; and many women own high-heeled footwear that they do not wear or are only able to wear for limited amounts of time due to the discomfort.
High-heeled footwear is uncomfortable mainly due to the fact that when heels are worn the foot is placed an angle from between 20 degrees to over 30 degrees relative to the ground. Such an angle causes multiple problems for the wearer.
First, the toes may become crushed due to the foot sliding forward as a result of the angle of the foot. If the footwear has closed toes, the toes of the wearer will be pressed against the front and sides of the closed toe box. If the shoe is a sandal or opened toed shoe, the toes will be pressed into the straps. The prolonged wearing of shoes in which the wearer's toes are crushed may result in severe foot problems such as bunions, hammertoes, or Morton's neuroma (plantar neuroma).
Second, in open-toed shoes (peep toe) or sandals one or more of the wearer's toes may overhang the soles of the shoe creating an unaesthetic appearance, which is troubling because the wearer is likely wearing heels for their aesthetic appearance.
Second, the heel may slide forward, making the heel area of the shoe unstable because of the gap that may be created between the shoe and the wearer's heel. The support provided at the heel of the shoe is lessened as the heel of the foot and the heel of the shoe are further apart. The forward movement of the heel misaligns the foot in the heel area may cause the shoe fit poorly creating pain for the wearer. It may also allow for lateral movement of the wearer's heel. This problem is exacerbated in open back sling back shoes and sandals where the foot sliding forward may loosen the strap around the wearer's heel.
Third, the forward movement of the foot shifts more of the weight of the wearer off the heels and onto the balls of the feet, thereby crushing the forefoot as most of the weight may be borne by the balls of the feet or the metatarsal heads. The balls of the wearer's feet naturally receive a large portion of the wearer's weight due to the angle of the shoe, and if the foot is sliding forward then even less weight is borne by the heel and additional weight is borne by the already stressed forefoot.
All of these problems caused by the foot sliding forward may be exacerbated by movement. As the wearer walks, jogs, dances, etc. the foot may slide forward on each step because. The different movement of the foot, whether it is lateral or forward movement during each step may create a different unpredictable situation for each foot fall. Thus wearing high-heeled footwear may increase the chance of falling or twisting an ankle, due to the instability that may be caused by the movement of the feet within the footwear. This hazard may be increased with uneven or slippery walking surfaces.
Consequently, the longer the wearer wears the shoes and the more the wearer moves in the shoes the more uncomfortable they may become. The wearer may feel increasing pain in the forefoot from crushing, increased instability in walking as the foot muscles tire, and a burning pain in the balls of the feet from the downward pressure during each step.
There are currently two types of products that have been put forward to assist high heel wearers to be more comfortable. These are insoles and inserts. The insoles and inserts currently available have numerous problems. For example many of the existing insoles, and some of the inserts, require special shoes or shoes that have a large amount of space. These inserts and insoles may not be used in any all styles, sizes and types of high-heeled footwear that the wearer may own.
The existing partial inserts which may be placed in wider range of shoes do not effectively and comfortably address the problem of the forefoot sliding forward and being crushed. There are existing inserts that are placed in high-heeled sandals that have a ridge along the forefoot area to prevent the toes from overhanging the front of the sandal. However that ridge design may be uncomfortable because it does not follow the angle of the base of the metatarsals.
Many existing inserts and/or insoles have heel inserts or heel and arch inserts that raise the heel relative to the forefoot, thus increasing the angle of the foot in the shoe and increasing the weight born by the forefoot. Alternatively existing insoles and inserts may target the arch of the foot by increasing the weight borne by the arch. However, having inserts that cause the arch to bear weight may often be uncomfortable and cause pain.
Additionally, existing inserts and insoles are often specifically designed for an individual and cannot be readily customized for different feet. A wearer may be unable to purchase off the rack insoles or inserts that are suitable for the wearer's unique feet shape and size.
Finally, many of the existing inserts or insoles take up excessive space or are obvious when placed in certain high-heeled footwear, thereby ruining the aesthetic appearance sought by the wearer.
There are no inserts available that are designed to work together to make high heeled shoes comfortable and stable at all areas of foot, including the heel the arch and the ball of the foot. No existing inserts effectively stabilize the heel of the foot and prevent the foot from sliding forward.
Therefore, there is a need for an insert that will enable a wearer to comfortably wear high-heeled footwear of all styles and heel heights, regardless of the shoe manufacturer. There is also a need for an insert that a person may place in any high-heeled footwear in order to increase the comfort in order to wear the footwear for longer periods of time.
More specifically, an there is a need for inserts that may be inserted into existing high-heeled footwear without modifying the footwear themselves to increase the comfort of the footwear. Preferably, the inserts will not detract from the overall aesthetic appearance of the high-heeled footwear.
While the invention refers to high heeled footwear and particularly high heeled shoes for women, it is understood that the invention may be used in any footwear, including men's footwear, that has a two-inch, or higher heel. For example the invention may be used in cowboy boots or dress boots.